CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Megan Clark has been appointed a non-executive director of the board of Rio Tinto

CSIRO Chairman Simon McKeon said the appointment to such a high profile international board was a credit to the reputation and achievements of both Dr Clark and CSIRO.

Dr Clark will step down from her Chief Executive position for the final few weeks of her tenure which is due to finish on December 31. She will remain in an advisory role in that time for the transition to the incoming CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall.

Mr McKeon said Dr Clark’s commitment to building a values-based organisation with a focus on safety performance has been outstanding. She has shown an unwavering focus on major projects which are delivering critical knowledge infrastructure to the nation - the new Marine National Facility (RV Investigator), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the Pawsey Supercomputer and research precincts in Perth, Canberra and Melbourne.

As an advocate for CSIRO Dr Clark has overseen close research partnerships with companies such as Boeing, Orica and GE as well as supporting over 1000 small to medium enterprises each year.

Deputy Chief Executive Craig Roy will be acting Chief Executive effective immediately until the Christmas break, when Dr Anita Hill will step into the Chief Executive role until Dr Marshall begins on January 15, 2015.

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